due to a lack of knowledge on other fortifications I agree with you on Carcassonne, for the time being, as being the best medieval fortified city I know.

But the topic was about castles and not fortified cities.
As for the castles you refer to in france, they are Renaissance palaces inspired by medieval architecture.
So I'm not sure if they can be counted as real castles, since they werent used in the middle ages as such. Or if they were, they are just too remodified to even resemble the origional. Another example of a palace inspired on medieval architecture is Neuschwanstein in Germany. Since this isn't from the middle ages I wouldn't count that as a viable castle as well.
So if we would make this fair we should only compare castles originating, being as close to origional as possible, and actually being used in the middle ages.
and in that case I just wouldn't know. Kind regards,

I have to say I like several castles all over. I think York would have been a spiffy castle in its day but not much is left. If I had to select one area it'd be the Edwardian Welsh castles. Edward I meant business and his castles new or remodelled are awesome even today!

this is like asking "which apple tastes best" - sometimes you are in the mood for a Granny Smith, sometimes a Fuji.... just depends on the mood.
Just doesn't make sense to me. I love a lot of German castles, Welsh castles, Irish, French, English, Spanish, well, you get the idea.... (and there are a dozen countries I didn't even list!)
My favorite castle is Krak des Chevaliers... mainly for the history, and the fortifications. However, there are MANY other castles that could qualify on those grounds. Some of my other favorites are the Tower of London, Neuschwanstein Castle, la Mota Castle, Craigievar Castle, again.. the list goes on and on.
I even love a lot of the fantasy castles that I've seen here.

LEGOFREAK wrote:this is like asking "which apple tastes best" - sometimes you are in the mood for a Granny Smith, sometimes a Fuji.... just depends on the mood. Just doesn't make sense to me. I love a lot of German castles, Welsh castles, Irish, French, English, Spanish, well, you get the idea.... (and there are a dozen countries I didn't even list!)My favorite castle is Krak des Chevaliers... mainly for the history, and the fortifications. However, there are MANY other castles that could qualify on those grounds. Some of my other favorites are the Tower of London, Neuschwanstein Castle, la Mota Castle, Craigievar Castle, again.. the list goes on and on. I even love a lot of the fantasy castles that I've seen here.

I'd have to agree on this one, though if we were going by names it would have to be Germany. Neuschwanstein literally means "new swan stone" in English. Hohenshcwangau means " high swan". You gotta love it.